


look both ways before you fall

by cherrychoke, topkyungsoo



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: ((unintentional)) is the key here, (Unintentional) Homophobic Language, Agender Character, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Usage of Wrong Pronouns (Unintentionally)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:41:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28713726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrychoke/pseuds/cherrychoke, https://archiveofourown.org/users/topkyungsoo/pseuds/topkyungsoo
Summary: Junmyeon agrees to fake date him; you know, for educational purposes.
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Junmyeon | Suho
Comments: 3
Kudos: 33
Collections: top!soo fest: round 4 (2020-2021)





	look both ways before you fall

**Author's Note:**

> [ For top!soo fest round 4: Fake Relationships AU ]
> 
>  **content warning** : mentions of homophobia, unintentional homophobic language, usage of wrong pronouns unintentionally.
> 
> (to elaborate: jeonghan is agender (here), their pronouns are they/them; their parents are trying their best to not slip up and to use their correct pronouns, kyungsoo slips up once. kyungsoo's parents are unintentionally homophobic/queerphobic, but they're learning.)

For all the work he put himself through to be an Archivist, he finds it just as boring as any other job would’ve been. It doesn’t let him sit on his butt all day, the Archive is so big and people constantly seem to need one thing or the other from it. Their team is small, led by an aged woman who doesn’t have the patience to deal with impatient officers, or teach the freshers who probably would make her work easier.

The new addition to their team messes up yet again, and Junmyeon knows this by the angry rattle of the shelves. He did consider teaching the new girl some things to save her from all that anger, but there are direct orders from the Ministry of Magic that Ms. Finnick teaches every new person. She doesn’t let Junmyeon or Baekhyun stay with the new girl for more than a minute, to make sure they don’t do her work. She taught Junmyeon as well, but it seems like two years of gap has made her more prone to anger bouts.

Ms. Finnick, Baekhyun, and the new girl come out of the shelves, while the old woman is fuming and muttering under her breath about despicable acts, Baekhyun is trying to comfort the girl. Junmyeon feels a little sympathy when he notices the girl is on the verge of crying. At least, she’s holding it together; twenty year old Junmyeon cried right in front of Ms. Finnick and the Elves. He mutters a spell to make his quill continue writing (it just has to copy some records, anyway) and makes his way towards the girl.

“What happened there?” he asks, shoving his hands into his pockets. Baekhyun gives the girl a comforting hug, and pats her head, then her back.

“She lost patience again, that’s it,” Baekhyun tells him, and looks at the girl. She’s twenty, only two years younger than Junmyeon, but he understands and knows how hurtful Ms. Finnick can be. “You’ll have to toughen up, Lisa. She gets angry for no reason, just take in through one ear and let it go through the other.”

“She’s old but knows a lot, and expects us to know without being taught,” Junmyeon says. He isn’t sure if it’s comforting, but they really can’t do much to help her feel better. Sit with her during lunch this time, perhaps, but she already seems to have a group of friends here.

Lisa nods, still sniffling, but she rolls her shoulders back and lets out a heavy breath. “I’m okay now. Let me go apologize to her.” she announces with an air of determination. Junmyeon smiles, amused.

“You don’t have to apologize,” Baekhyun grins at her. “If you apologize when it’s not your fault, you’ll just get another angry lecture. Just ask her when she plans to continue teaching you. It’s almost lunch anyway.”

Lisa nods again and disappears into the rows of shelves. She’s almost the same height as Baekhyun and Junmyeon, but as she walks away with heeled boots and long steps, Junmyeon can’t help but think she’s from Gryffindor.

“What house was she in?” He asks. Him and Baekhyun were in Ravenclaw (a lot of people here are, surprisingly; he was told Raveclaws usually _don’t_ take Ministry jobs.)

Baekhyun starts collecting the papers he left on his desk before following Lisa and Ms. Finnick. He adjusts them on the table before looking up at him with confusion. “Is she from Hogwarts?” 

“I feel like I’ve seen her face,” Junmyeon replies.

“Could be. I’ve never really paid attention to the juniors. She definitely wasn’t in any quidditch games, I can tell you that much.” Baekhyun shrugs and leaves with his stack of papers.

Junmyeon nods. When he looks back at his quill, it freezes and shrivels animatedly before it drops on the book it was writing in. Junmyeon wishes he could do that as well. Copying records is so boring, but his greed for knowledge doesn’t let him bewitch the quill to write the entirety of what needs to be copied for him. He could be doing what Baekhyun does — assign two quills and himself to write all the records. But Junmyeon gets jittery to know what’s in them. He reads every line he’s copying carefully and spends some time reading whatever the quill has copied for him while he was away. His curiosity knows no limits, and that’s gotten him into trouble a lot more than one would expect.

He’s tried to get into the Forbidden section of the Hogwarts library many times, and has gotten detention all of the time. It’s his lifelong dream now, to infiltrate that library and read at least one book from it.

A loud noise from the gong signifies lunch break, but Junmyeon writes till Baekhyun comes to him, arms crossed over his chest and wand ready in his hand

“Lunch time,” he chimes, closing the ink bottles with a flick of his wrist. “Come on, eat before we do more work.”

Junmyeon writes till the ink in his quill dries up, and when he looks up, Baekhyun is grimacing at him. He smiles, sheepish, and puts the quill aside. “Lunch time.” He chimes back, mimicking his colleague perfectly.

The array of food they get at work is nowhere near the variety and richness they used to get at Hogwarts, but Junmyeon’s taste buds have become accustomed to this. The departments get their own tables so everyone can eat together in a common dining hall, but more often than not, people sit wherever they want and chat. Baekhyun and Junmyeon get their plates filled with food and go to the Aurors’ and Herbology table. It’s a strange mix on the table for an outsider but all of them know each other since Hogwarts — not too close with everyone, but they do. Both the departments push their tables so they’re side-by-side. It fits eighteen of them easily, but there are only twelve of them in total. Eleven, today, as it seems. Minseok is missing.

“Where’s Minseok-hyung?” Baekhyun asks, sitting between Sehun and Jongdae. He steals Jongdae’s muffin easily, but whines when Sehun steals his fresh piece of bread.

“He’s sick,” Junmyeon replies. He sits between Kyungsoo and Yifan, both of whom are from the Herbology department, and both Ravenclaws. Although Yifan was in Junmyeon’s year, and Kyungsoo was their junior. Houses shouldn’t matter now that they’re no longer students at Hogwarts, but it was drilled into them for nearly 8 years. It consumed all of their teen years, it’s difficult to get rid of that quickly. He gets an urge to rest his head on Yifan’s shoulder, he always does that when they sit together, but they’re eating. “He got sick yesterday evening, apparently.”

His greed for knowledge doesn’t stop at books and archives and forbidden sections of libraries. He knows every rumour every person has in the dining room, including himself. The only actual knowledge he’s lacking is how to get the information his higher-ups get. Ms. Finnick doesn’t hide much from her team, but he’s curious about the other department Heads. Except for the Aurors, nobody seems to know anything until the official announcement.

“Myeonnie, I need you to pull an archived record for me after this,” Luhan says with a smile. He picks up his bowl of soup and gulps half of it down before he speaks again. “I need to find out about this Auror who was kicked out a couple years back. I’m told there are no records of it.”

Junmyeon holds his tongue and takes a bite of his beef, savouring its flavour before he opens his mouth. “No work at the dining table,” he tuts like his father does, laughing when Luhan rolls his eyes. “I’ll find it for you though.”

❀

After lunch, Luhan and Kyungsoo follow him back to the Archive. Usually, people who need something from the Archive need to go to a different area, ask for whatever they want through an 8-inch square, and sign their names in a book before and after they take whatever is required. But Junmyeon doesn’t mind bringing the book here for them to sign, it’s much more pleasant than the little square, and Ms. Finnick doesn’t object to it. The Archive works almost like a library but the records maintained are down to the point, factual. The place is made of such magic that any page on which something false is written, it burns into ashes instantly. So there’s nothing false here, but there are certain incidents the old Archivists missed, and those are lost treasures of this place.

When Luhan tells him the Auror’s name, Junmyeon realizes it must be on the fourth floor. Information on people is arranged in the order of when they were born, and this guy definitely can’t be younger than four decades. “It’ll take some time. Wait here.”

“Can I come with you?” Kyungsoo asks, wringing his hands nervously. 

Junmyeon raises an eyebrow, glancing at the hands. It’s rare for Kyungsoo to be nervous about something. He shakes his head. “You can’t enter the shelves if you don’t have an ID card.”

He goes to the fourth floor with the help of a small, creaky elevator, and puts his ID card in a little box right before the shelves. The box beeps loudly, and the shield reappears once he walks into the first row. The shelves are so high even Yifan and Chanyeol can’t reach the top, the shelves wobble sometimes because of the disturbance on the floor below, but in two years of working amidst them, they’ve never fallen. He doesn’t jump anymore when the shelves shake.

“Marcel,” he calls, scanning the years taped on the drawers’ front. The Elf appears from the other side of the floor, and looks at him with his wide eyes. “Is Auror Fin’s information in the Archive?”

Marcel’s forehead wrinkles while he thinks. After a moment, he nods and points at the upper drawers. “In the 1973 drawer, fourth book.”

“Thank you,” he smiles; he isn’t surprised when the Elf just stares at him with a bored look. He fishes out the money from his pockets. “Here.” He gives Marcel the coins, and drags the ladder to the drawer he just pointed out. He hears the Elf mutter something about forgetful humans, but he doesn’t mind it — his reaction is understandable.

Ministry Of Magic allowed them to hire Elves two decades ago, but they still refuse to let them have a constant paycheck like the team of four gets. So it’s a tradition now to set aside a part of their income to pay the Elves as ‘tips’ for helping. Two Galleons and four Sickles for each time they help. Perhaps because they’re right under the Ministry and their department is extremely valuable, Junmyeon’s paycheck is hefty (he’s sure Ms. Finnick’s is double his amount), paying the Elves regularly doesn’t worry him about his finances.

From what he’s heard, they make a good chunk over the minimum wage Ministry of Magic gives the other Elves, so he doesn’t feel bad about how less it feels every time he pays them.

The file he pulls out is pathetically thin. He takes his ID card back on his way down, grabs the book before he comes back to Luhan and Kyungsoo. He hands it over after Luhan signs, watches him open the file, frown at it, and close it again. “I’ll return it soon.”

Junmyeon nods. Both of them look at Kyungsoo expectantly, who turns to Luhan. “You can get going, hyung, mine is going to take some time.”

Once Luhan leaves, Junmyeon clears a small section on his table and sits there, but with one foot on the ground. Ms. Finnick doesn’t approve of sitting on tables, he doesn’t want to be caught and get yelled at.

“Hyung,” Kyungsoo’s voice is barely audible, his tone nervous. “I have a favour to ask.”

Junmyeon doesn’t reply and continues to look at him, waiting.

“This will sound very odd,” he warns, his hands are no longer nervously rubbing against each other, but they’re curled into fists and resting on his thighs. 

“Tell me, and I’ll think about it.” Junmyeon hums.

“What are your plans this Christmas?”

“Ah,” Junmyeon sighs. “I’m… staying here.”

“So you’re free?” Kyungsoo doesn’t seem sympathetic about Junmyeon’s situation. He looks rather hopeful about it. “You’re not going to your parents house?”

He wants to, if he’s being honest, but it’s their turn to go to their relatives’ house, and the gathering is happening at the shitty relatives’ place. He’s already told his parents he doesn’t want to go there, and they were fine with it. He’s pretty sure they would’ve bailed on those people if they weren’t related. “Not this time.”

“Can you come to my house for Christmas, then? And pretend to be my boyfriend in front of my parents.”

Junmyeon stares at the younger man’s face for a moment. “Are they homophobic?”

“No,” Kyungsoo shakes his head. “They aren’t homophobic but they… lack knowledge, I guess, of how to behave around people who aren’t heterosexual.”

“They don’t need to behave differently though,” Junmyeon narrows his eyes, “Why do I need to pretend to be your boyfriend?”

Kyungsoo laughs softly, rubbing his nape. “They have never been around queer couples, they’ll be on edge and say terrible things without meaning to, and I don’t want to put my future boyfriend through that.”

Fair enough, Junmyeon thinks. “Have you told your current boyfriend that you’re asking me for this?”

Kyungsoo sputters a bit, his face red. “I don’t have one.”

“Do the others know?”

“Why does that matter?”

Junmyeon grins, smug. “I don’t want to cause trouble if you ever ask Minseok-hyung out, you know.”

That leaves the younger wizard stuttering and stumbling over his words while trying to defend himself. It was really easy for Junmyeon to figure that out. For one, there have been rumours about how Kyungsoo is softer around Minseok, and Junmyeon has seen Kyungsoo staring at the Auror, rarely blinking and looking so fascinated by whatever Minseok was telling him. Granted, Minseok has this impressive way of twirling cylindrical items in his fingers — he doesn’t even _look_ while doing it, and never has dropped anything while doing it.

“I don’t have a crush on him,” Kyungsoo sighs, still blushing. “I just think he’s… great. For a friend.”

“Yeah, sure,” Junmyeon rolls his eyes. “For a friend.”

“Will you do it, hyung?”

“Yeah,” Junmyeon pats Kyungsoo’s stomach and shifts onto his chair. “Only if you promise to show me around your town.”

Kyungsoo nods, beaming. “Deal.”

❀

Their train’s estimated arrival is at 8:45AM. The station is filled with people waiting to get back to their hometowns, just like Kyungsoo is, and as far as Junmyeon can see, they’re the only ones with less luggage. The population is mostly students with their huge metal trunks and their bags with more books; some seem to be waiting for their parents to pick them up, while some are waiting for the next train. Some of the adults Junmyeon spots are frowning at their phones, heads hanging down and unaware of their surroundings. 

It’s cold this morning, cloudy too. The lack of sunshine has people huddled together, and people who are alone have their arms wrapped around themselves. Not as cold as last year when he was waiting, all alone in a lonely train station. It’s hard to get a ticket anywhere close to Christmas, and even though 19th is a week from it, the tickets are still too expensive for two people.

“Have you thought of anything,” Junmyeon asks. Their train should be here in a few more minutes. They’re sitting on the bench, huddled close for warmth, and because of the man sitting next to them like he owns the damn bench. He leans towards the younger man, looking at him closely. “If this plan of yours backfires?”

“There’s no space to backfire,” Kyungsoo replies, continuing to stare to his left — from where the train is supposed to stop at the station. He shrugs after a second, and looks at his friend. “What do you think will backfire?”

Junmyeon thinks about it for a moment, then purses his lips. “Maybe if their reactions… are violent. Or if they don’t approve of you dating someone. Or if they don’t like _me.”_

“They aren’t violent,” Kyungsoo’s stare is hard, judging Junmyeon for even thinking about it. He doesn’t feel bad, though. He’s just trying to get out of this whole act without a scratch, can Kyungsoo — his _friend_ — blame him for playing it safe? “I know this because my older sister married her girlfriend two years ago, and in their recent letter they told me my younger sibling announced that they don’t have a gender.”

“And yet they don’t know how to act around queer couples?” Junmyeon raises his eyebrow. Sounds like a family who should know at least the bare minimum about how to act around queer couples.

“Like I said, they lack knowledge. They’re nearing their sixties — retired, and Pureblood, they don’t trust the internet; maybe if they were literally _anything_ other than Herbologists, they’d know at least two percent about it.”

He laughs at that. He keeps his phone for the sake of texting and calling, that’s it, it makes him feel a little old. “I don’t either, to be fair.”

“See? And my sister, she didn’t tell them she was married until last month,” They wince together. That’s unfortunate. “She works with dragons and takes care of them, so she usually doesn’t have much time. My parents thought that’s why her letters are so heavily work-focused and that one video chat was two minutes long.”

Junmyeon laughs a little at the mention of video chat. After the wreck that was World Wizarding Games 2002, the Ministry enforced strict rules about use of Magic around Muggles. Now, many Wizarding folk readily use Muggle devices — like the phone. His parents really like both the options they have, but he prefers the old ways better because of the nostalgia. Obliviating among wizard villages is permitted as long as there are at least ten in both places each. Only regular owl posts are allowed to be sent officially. Every newspaper picture will move only when there’s nobody around the reader in one meter radius. Things have changed drastically.

“Is your sister coming with her wife too?”

Kyungsoo shakes his head again. “She’s busy with work, so it’s me during Christmas and her during New Years.”

Junmyeon wants to ask about his sibling — he hasn’t talked to them since he graduated, but there are vague memories of them and their face. He remembers waking up to green slime splashing on his legs, and Kyungsoo covered in it, a box (from which the green slime exploded) in his hands. It was “revenge” for something Kyungsoo did, and they had to scrub the floor before any of the teachers found out. It’s a funny memory now, but he was ready to hex his sibling the next time he saw them. Their name is Jeonghan, as far as Junmyeon remembers, and they should be around seventeen years now.

The train’s whistle is sharp and deafening. They get up immediately, grabbing their luggage, all conversation forgotten as they feel the ground vibrating more and more as it nears the station. When the train stops in front of them, Junmyeon waits for a chaos that never comes. He’s never travelled in this train before, but every train is usually met with people pushing each other to get in first. Everyone crowds at the two entrances each carriage has, they allow a handful of people to step out before they start boarding in.

It takes them a few minutes to find and settle in their compartment.

“Seems like we have the compartment to ourselves,” Junmyeon mutters. He looks out of the window for a second, observing the empty platform on the other side. “How long does this train stay here?”

“Fifteen minutes,” Kyungsoo stuffs his hand into his pocket and takes out his phone. He’s holding their ticket paper in his other hand. “Do you want to watch some movies with me?”

“I want to watch Muggle movies,” Junmyeon moves next to his friend and rests his head on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. He stares at the earbud he’s offered, and looks at his friend with a sad smile. “I don’t know how to put those in.”

“Bullshit,” Kyungsoo snorts. He turns a little and shoves the earbud into Junmyeon’s ear. “That’s how you put it in.”

“It hurts my ear,” Junmyeon whines, pulling it out. He holds it near his ear instead, wincing because of the lingering ache in his outer ear. “Can’t they make two-headed headphones instead of this? I would so much prefer those.”

“Make one yourself,” Kyungsoo laughs. He opens a folder in his phone, which has at least 14 movies. “Choose one, I like all of them.”

The movie names are funny, but the one which catches Junmyeon’s eye is “Excused Murders” — why would anyone name their movie such a thing? It’s intriguing, sure, but Junmyeon can’t help but stare at the thumbnail of it and judge it.

❀

Junmyeon gives up on the movie halfway through, it’s too graphic and too violent. He returns the earbud and decides to take a nap on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. They’re almost the same height, so he has to wiggle a little, circle his arms on Kyungsoo’s waist to get _really_ comfortable for his nap. When he glances at the movie, though, he’s reminded of the rest of his question.

“Kyungsoo, you didn’t answer the rest of it,” he says leaning his head back, staring at Kyungsoo until his friend removes one of the earbuds, an eyebrow raised. “What if your parents don’t approve of you dating someone? Or what if they don’t like me?”

“Are you still thinking about that?” Kyungsoo pauses the movie and sighs. “They didn’t mind me dating when I was in Hogwarts, I don’t think they’ll mind it now. And why do you think I chose you? I’m very certain they’ll like you.”

“Oh?” Junmyeon beams, leans his head closer to Kyungsoo’s abruptly, just to tease him. “And here I thought maybe I was wrong about your crush on Minseok, that you might like me instead.”

“You’re approved by my parents, not me,” Kyungsoo grins back, and he makes a gesture of flicking a wand in the air. “I would’ve to be hexed to like you, hyung.”

“Ouch,” Junmyeon clutches his chest, pouting. “I was joking but you really hurt my feelings.”

“Good,” Kyungsoo puts the earbuds back, grinning as he resumes the movie. “That’s what I hoped for.”

❀

They reach the station at 9:55PM, and it takes an hour to reach Kyungsoo’s house.

When they take their luggage out of the taxi, Junmyeon is in awe of the apartment building Kyungsoo’s parents live in. There’s street art on the outer walls of the gate, and the building itself looks very vintage — there’s smoke coming out from the roof, and it looks exactly like a place in dreams. More dreamy because of the streetlights. He notices a few pedestrians in tracksuits, brisk walking from here to there. Junmyeon’s house is in a village full of wizards and witches among Muggles — this time is for gossip, where the older folks make circles and talk about whatever gossip-worth happened with anyone. Muggles seem to care more for their health, though.

“It’s a beautiful place,” Junmyeon tells Kyungsoo as they make their way to the first floor. The stairs are plain, but he can imagine them being slightly more cracked and used as years pass by. This is the best place for any wizard to spend their old age. “Can I stay here forever?”

“No,” Kyungsoo stops at a door and rings the bell. “But tell them that, they like to talk about this place a lot.”

The door clicks and opens inward but nobody is behind it. Kyungsoo walks in first, and Junmyeon follows him. They leave the shoes in the shoe rack, walking through a narrow corridor which widens into a living room. There’s a pendulum clock on the opposite wall, and it shows 10:55 exactly. Junmyeon wonders if it chimes like a wizard’s clock would. Or if everything is here made in such a way that Muggles don’t raise their eyebrows at the family.

“I’m back,” Kyungsoo announces when he steps into the living room. He blocks Junmyeon from coming in, though.

“Welcome back, sweetheart,” both his parents chorus, and Kyungsoo steps aside to let Junmyeon see his view.

Both his parents are sitting on the couch, facing the TV which is right below the pendulum clock. The living room is relatively empty; shouldn’t Herbologists have more, well, plants around? At least plants Muggles usually have? Their full attention is on the TV and they aren’t looking at him or their son.

“I want you to meet someone,” Kyungsoo says, and they finally tear their eyes from the TV. Their eyes fall on Junmyeon, and they get up immediately. Kyungsoo gestures at him, smiling a little. “This is my boyfriend, Junmyeon.”

While they stand in shock, Junmyeon smiles awkwardly and repeats his name over again. It’s nice to hear Kyungsoo say the word _boyfriend,_ for some reason. He can’t fight the little smile off his face, he touches his ear to make sure they aren’t heated, and to do something other than stare as Kyungsoo’s parents recover from their initial shock.

“Hello!” His dad is the first to recover and to hurry towards him, greeting him with a huge smile. “I’m Kyungsoo’s dad.”

“You didn’t tell me you were bringing someone,” his mom smiles nervously, moving towards Junmyeon but looking at Kyungsoo. “Let alone your boyfriend. Hello dear, how was the journey?”

“It was good, thank you.” So far, there’s nothing too weird about the way Kyungsoo’s parents are behaving. They keep the luggage in the doorway and sit on the couch — Junmyeon sits on the single seat that’s next at right angle to the couch. Kyungsoo sits on the arm of the single seat, and Junmyeon doesn’t question him. His parents go to the kitchen first, and ask him if he wants any juice. Junmyeon shakes his head, but Mr. Do is already pouring them four glasses of orange juice. He notices two pairs of garden gloves in the lower shelf of the coffee table; they must have a garden somewhere then.

“Hannie, your brother and his boyfriend are here! Come greet them!” His mother calls from the kitchen.

“Hannie?” Kyungsoo asks. Junmyeon glances at him, only to find him raising an eyebrow at his parents. He looks away when their eyes meet for a second.

“He’s trying— uh, they’re trying new names out,” His dad shrugs. He brings the glasses to the coffee table in front of the couch and passes it to Junmyeon, then his son. “They said Hannie sounds more gender-neutral.”

There’s heavy footsteps from upstairs, and a seventeen year old Hannie peaks their head out from the corner of the living room. “Boyfriend?”

They’re just as he remembers, just a bit more mature-looking. Their eyes are wide in surprise, but their lips have the same mischievous upward curve, and the chubbiness in their cheeks is clearly fading. They look nothing like Kyungsoo — or either of their parents, it’s the same with Kyungsoo — but that’s because they’re adopted. They’re usually accompanied by their family cat (which usually took a seat on their shoulders, or Kyungsoo’s) but the cat’s nowhere to be found.

“Don’t be rude, come here and greet him properly.” His mother frowns at the kid.

“Where’s your cat?” Junmyeon whispers to him.

Kyungsoo looks sad while whispering back, “Cats, or any kind of pets, aren’t allowed in this building.”

Junmyeon no longer wants to live here forever.

“When did you get a boyfriend?” Hannie finally approaches the couch, but they stay behind their mother as she brings a tray full of snacks, frowning at their brother.

“Uh, pretty recently.” Kyungsoo shrugs.

Hannie nods, but they narrow their eyes suspiciously at Junmyeon. “If it’s recent, how come you brought him here for Christmas?”

“Hannie!” Their mother turns around and smacks their head. “Don’t talk to our guest like that! Go prepare the guest room for him!”

Hannie sticks their tongue out at Kyungsoo. “No I won’t! He can make it for his own boyfriend!”

“Yes you will, you brat!” Kyungsoo yells, but he doesn’t chase after his sibling as they run away. He laughs when Hannie disappears from the room. “God, were they always this annoying? Or is it the Christmas spirit?”

“He’s just missed you and doesn’t know how to express it,” His mother shrugs. There’s a beat of silence, where she freezes like a comic book character, and looks at her husband with worry. Junmyeon resists the urge to smile; it’s heart-warming to see them try so much, and actually care when they make a mistake. It’s slightly too dramatic, but he’ll take it. He sips the orange juice as he observes.

“Just correct yourself,” Kyungsoo says calmly. The pendulum clock dings loudly, indicating its 11pm. “It’s going to take a while to get used to it, mom.”

“Kyungsoo’s right,” His dad wraps an arm around his wife, taking a deep breath. “Take a deep breath, it doesn’t have to be a big deal — just say ‘they’ okay?”

“Right,” Kyungsoo’s mom takes a deep breath, then exhales slowly. “They. They just missed you.”

“It doesn’t have to be a big deal,” Kyungsoo reminds her. Junmyeon agrees, but the dramaticness of all of this is making him want to laugh. He hides his smile behind the glass of juice. “Hannie won’t be offended or hurt if you make a mistake, they know you’re trying.”

“Okay,” she takes a couple more deep breaths and stands with an air of finality. “I’ll make some snacks for you both. Kyungsoo, show him the guest bedroom— wait.”

Junmyeon waits, staring at her as her face twists into a confused expression. So dramatic; it seems like Kyungsoo mostly copied his father’s characteristics.

“Is it okay that he’s staying in the guest room?”

“Would you ask the same if I had brought a girlfriend instead?” Kyungsoo asks.

“No, she’d obviously stay in the guest bedroom— ah, okay,” His mom nods. “Got it.”

She walks away and now they’re left with Kyungsoo’s dad, who looks very awkward and uncomfortable in his own house. He stands up abruptly, and follows his wife after saying, “I’ll go help her clean.”

Junmyeon covers his mouth and giggles a little, looking at Kyungsoo who looks extremely worried for his parents but also amused. He looks at Junmyeon and shrugs. “They’re overthinkers.”

“I can see that,” Junmyeon stifles his laughter. _And very dramatic._ “I feel bad for them.”

“They’re old, and handle change poorly,” Kyungsoo gets up and pulls Junmyeon up with him. “Come, I’ll show you the guest bedroom.”

❀

They bring all of their luggage upstairs and he’s led to the guest room first, which he now knows is actually Kyungsoo’s sister’s room. It’s completely bare though, decorated just like a guest room would be. They find Hannie inside, their arms full with a fluffy blanket, and their small fist clinging onto a pillow.

“The bathroom is next door,” Kyungsoo points to his right with his thumb. “My room is right in front of this room, if you need anything.”

Junmyeon nods. Kyungsoo moves towards the door, and pauses there, turning around to give the elder a pointed look. “ _Knock_ before you come in.”

“I know, Kyungsoo,” Junmyeon can’t help but roll his eyes. He didn’t knock when they were in Hogwarts because they shared a room, but he knows how to behave in other people’s houses, damn. “If I knew you’d treat me like a kid, I wouldn’t have come here.”

Kyungsoo gives him a sarcastic smile. “Sure.”

He leaves right after and Junmyeon awkwardly checks the room out while Hannie sets up the bed. He wants to help, but he also thinks Hannie’s occasional glares aren’t directed at the sheets they’re struggling with. He sets the suitcase on the floor, opening it, and takes out a comfortable set of pajamas. It’s okay to wear pajamas here, right? That’s what he wears in his house, and Kyungsoo said he can be comfortable like he’s at home.

He waits on the floor with the suitcase open, staring at the pajama set.

Hannie clears their throat, catching Junmyeon’s attention. “Are you really my brother’s boyfriend?”

“I am,” Junmyeon can’t help but laugh. “Why are you so suspicious about it?”

“Well,” Hannie walks towards him cautiously, and they stand over the suitcase, looking at Junmyeon. “He never showed any interest in anyone. Not girls, not boys.”

Junmyeon raises his eyebrow. “What makes you think I’m either a girl or a boy?”

Hannie’s eyes light up.

“No, no,” Junmyeon shakes his head, laughing a little. “I’m kidding, I’m a guy. I’m a cisman.”

Hannie clicks their tongue in disappointment. “You got my hopes up.”

“I’m sorry,” he shrugs. “But why does that make you suspicious, hm? Maybe he just didn’t tell you. I know a handful of people who dated your brother you don’t know about.”

Handful might be a stretch; he knows exactly two people who Kyungsoo dated in Hogwarts. Hannie stares at him for a few more minutes before they leave without another word. Junmyeon kind of wishes they’d talk about how their school is going, if there’s anything changed in Hogwarts, but some part of him wonders if they’ve forgotten him. They never interacted in the first place, Junmyeon probably wouldn’t know anything about them if he hadn’t pestered Kyungsoo to tell him. He goes to the bathroom next door, washing the tiredness out of his face, and changes into the pajamas anyway. If they look at him weird, he’ll just not wear it tomorrow.

So far, though, what Junmyeon has found weird about the house is that there’s nothing floating. If it’s a true Pureblood’s house, there’s always things floating; but they live in a Muggle area, so it’s probably safer to have everything floating. Junmyeon’s house has a floating broom which cleans up after them, and even the dinner table is set by making the utensils float their way to the table.

He goes down the stairs for water but pauses when he finds Kyungsoo in the kitchen, opening shelves and passing plastic jars to someone on his left. When he finally looks into the kitchen, both of Kyungsoo’s parents and Kyungsoo are in there; his dad is kneading something in a bowl, and his mother is leaning against the counter, talking to Kyungsoo, who remains unoccupied.

“Junmyeon!” His dad beams at him, and when he lets go of the bowl, Junmyeon realises they’re wearing a couples’ apron. They look cute. “I hope you like pasta.”

He nods.

“Is there something you don’t like?” His mother asks curiously. She moves near her husband and puts a tray inside the oven.

“I eat almost everything,” he shrugs when she looks at him, surprised. “I’m not a picky eater, Mrs. Do.”

Mr. Do laughs. “Of course you aren’t. Soo, what doesn’t he like?”

“I really don’t hate anything,” Junmyeon says when he notices Kyungsoo panic a little. They’ve talked about this before, but he doubts Kyungsoo remembers it. He, at least, doesn’t remember what Kyungsoo doesn’t like. “I’m not lying.”

“He, uh, doesn’t like beans,” Kyungsoo rubs his nape, and checks his nails before he looks at his parents. “But that’s probably because the cafeteria cooks it badly.”

“You both work together?” Mrs. Do checks the oven again, but she opens the door this time, grabbing a wand from the counter, and takes out a tray (bigger than what she kept in) of cookies out of the oven with a flick of her wand. Now it feels like a wizard’s house. “Is that how you met?”

Junmyeon glances at Kyungsoo before he starts talking.

“We met at Hogwarts. I’ve known him since then, and we kind of ended up working for the Ministry.” The tray of hot cookies comes near him — they’re red and dusted with powdered sugar on top of them.

“They’re red velvet cookies,” Mrs. Do beams, proud. “Kyungsoo printed out the recipe from the Internet.”

“They smell great,” Junmyeon grins back. The cookie is hot, but he passes it between his hands to avoid burning his fingers. He shouldn’t eat a cookie at this time in the night, but he likes sweets, especially cookies. “I must say, they look like they’ll taste delicious.”

“So both of you work together?” Mr. Do asks. He’s finally stopped kneading the dough, and the bowl is covered with a red cloth. He washes his hands in the sink as he looks at Junmyeon, waiting.

“No,” Junmyeon shakes his head. He breaks the cookie, watching the steam escape, and blows on it as he talks. “I’m an Archivist. We were friends at Hogwarts too, and our friend group kind of merged when he came to the Ministry.”

Mrs. Do, once again, looks surprised.“You’re an Archivist? There must be so many books about the gay wizards, do you think we can borrow some of those from the Archive?”

“There aren’t many records of queer magic folk,” Junmyeon tells her, smiling sympathetically when her expression turns disappointed. He felt the same emotion when he began his search and a year later, he still hasn’t found a single person mentioned to be queer. “As far as my knowledge goes, they’ll be updated if anyone comes out, but there’s nothing yet.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Mrs. Do sighs. “I was hoping there would be an encyclopedia on the gays in the Archive.”

“Stop saying ‘the gays’,” Kyungsoo snaps, frowning at her. “And you have the internet to learn, mom.”

“Watch your tone, young man,” Mr. Do looks at his son with disapproval. “What happened to explaining things calmly?”

There’s suddenly so much tension in the kitchen, Junmyeon feels a little nervous. He isn’t good at handling family tensions, especially when it’s not his family. He glances at the clock — it’s 11:40pm, he’s really tired, but he isn’t sleepy yet. It’s probably because he’s overtired, and all he can do now is stuff his mouth with the red velvet cookie. They taste amazing; tooth-achingly sweet.

Kyungsoo stares back at his parents, three of them wearing identical frowns, and he finally sighs. “‘The gays’ sounds… patronizing, and some people say that to dismiss other people in the community.”

The tension dissolves with that, thankfully. Mrs. Do nods, but the frown remains on her lips. “That wasn’t my intention, but you know I don’t trust the internet.”

There’s more tension again. Kyungsoo looks frustrated by her words, and he frowns at her while both of them do the same to their son. Hannie comes downstairs and grabs Kyungsoo’s hand. “I have to show you something.”

They drag Kyungsoo out of the kitchen and Kyungsoo grabs Junmyeon’s hand as he’s taken upstairs.

“Thank you,” Junmyeon mutters when they are in Hannie’s room and they close the door.

Hannie doesn’t mind him at all. They go to their table and pick up a comic book. Junmyeon looks around the room, it’s cozy, lived in and very clearly loved. There are posters of Muggle music bands Junmyeon has heard of, a square which looks like a calendar but there are things scribbled in the smaller boxes. Hannie has a small shelf of comic books, a story told in sections. Junmyeon picks the first one up and scans it.

“She can use recipes from the internet but not for this?” Kyungsoo says after a moment. Junmyeon glances at him. He’s frowning deeply, sitting on Hannie’s bed and waiting for his sibling to look up. “It sounds like an excuse to not learn.”

“Hyung, you chose and printed those,” Hannie sighs, closing the book. Junmyeon goes back to scanning the comic book. He starts reading it, but most of his focus is with the siblings and their conversation. Hannie moves from out of Junmyeon’s peripheral vision, towards Kyungsoo he assumes. Their words are whispered, but the room is quiet, Junmyeon hears it anyway “It’s not fair to ask them to use the internet when they’re… so, well, wary of it.”

It occurs to him that he’s eavesdropping a private conversation. Kyungsoo — or even Hannie, may not be comfortable with him in the room. He puts the book back, and stands up, facing the siblings. “I’ll go to my room.”

“Actually, hyung,” Hannie looks sheepish. “Can you stay? I need to go, um, somewhere.”

He looks at Kyungsoo for confirmation. Hannie leaves when their sibling nods, and Junmyeon moves to sit on the bed, next to his friend. Kyungsoo looks upset, wound up tight because of the conversation earlier.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Junmyeon offers. “I’ve never seen you this worked up about something.”

“It was a regular conversation, I’m fine.” Kyungsoo is saying those words, but he’s clearly not fine. Junmyeon wants to drop the topic, he knows pestering would only worsen the situation, but it’s frustrating _him_ that he can’t comfort his friend immediately. And it’s Kyungsoo — they may not have confined to each other in Hogwarts but they’re so much closer now. Close enough to pretend to date to educate his parents; that’s something, right?

Junmyeon licks his lips. “Does it help to know my parents were similar in the beginning?”

Kyungsoo nods, reaching for Junmyeon’s hand with a sullen look, and sighing. He stares at their legs while talking. “I just wish they’d give it a try. It feels like I’m talking to a wall sometimes.”

“I get that,” Junmyeon squeezes Kyungsoo’s hand. “Do you want to know something funny? My parents used the internet and would use internet slang to talk to me.”

That makes Kyungsoo laugh softly. Junmyeon beams at that, his chest becoming warm for a moment.

“I stopped using the internet after fourth year, right? When I went home for Christmas break, they were talking about these popular queer shows and say ‘B-R-B’ at the end of conversations.”

Kyungsoo laughs louder, and Junmyeon is glad to hear it. “That’s nice of them, they were trying to make you feel more comfortable.”

“Yeah, I appreciate it, but it was so... They’re cool now, but it was weird experiencing their internet phase.”

“I wouldn’t mind experiencing my parents go through an internet phase,” Kyungsoo smiles, but it falls too quickly. 

“There are books,” Junmyeon reminds him. While he understands how much easier the internet would be, he fails to understand why Kyungsoo is being so adamant. “And documentaries, movies, and videos — on the internet, but you can download them and show it to them, right? Why are you so fixated on making them use the internet?”

“Because,” Kyungsoo takes a deep breath, and sighs heavily. “Those aren’t enough. You know those aren’t. The books, the videos — they exclude so many things.”

Hannie comes back, looking curiously at the both of them.

“Let them start somewhere,” Junmyeon gently pulls the younger into a side hug. “Let them make a start, they’ll learn everything eventually.”

“Yeah, hyung,” Hannie says, approaching the bed. They fit themselves on Kyungsoo’s other side, looking sympathetic to their brother. “They’re trying, and they’re doing their best. Don’t be so hard on them.”

Kyungsoo sighs and slides his head on Junmyeon’s shoulder. “I guess.”

“Don’t guess,” Hannie pretends to flick their brother’s forehead, smiling. “You owe them that much. They’re _so_ supportive, all they’re asking for is a less daunting way. Don’t pressure them so much.”

“All right,” Kyungsoo reaches out and squeezes his sibling’s hand, finally looking at them with a teasing grin. “Your pea brain maxed out for today, huh?”

They roll their eyes. “At least I have a brain.”

❀

He sleeps okay in the new bed, the unfamiliar surroundings give him weird, incoherent nightmares he keeps waking up from, but as the sky gets lighter, they fade and Junmyeon is sure he’s gotten at least five hours of sleep. He’s functioned okay for three days without a blink of sleep during exams, he should be okay. At least, that’s what Junmyeon tells himself as he walks right into Kyungsoo out of the guest room.

“Hyung,” Kyungsoo grunts. “Watch where you’re going.”

“Sorry,” Junmyeon rubs his face, trying to open his eyes. His eyelids feel glued together. “I didn’t sleep that good.”

They head downstairs, Junmyeon holds onto Kyungsoo’s shoulders so he doesn’t injure himself in the process of opening his eyes and going downstairs. He stops when Kyungsoo stops, and feels his friend turn around.

“Can’t open your eyes?” Kyungsoo asks, voice low.

“I’m too tired, I think,” Junmyeon replies. He usually doesn’t have this problem. “Lack of sleep doesn’t help either.”

His toes are cold suddenly, and he finally notices how cold every inch of his body feels. It wasn’t this cold in the guest bedroom, but that had wooden floors. The cold tiles downstairs don’t help with the cold at all. He huddles closer to Kyungsoo, arms on his friend’s shoulders, and hugs Kyungsoo gently.

He thinks of how easily Kyungsoo accepts him in his arms. There’s something different about this, Junmyeon thinks. He’s a touchy person with his friends — resting their head on their shoulders randomly, holding their arms while walking, feeding/letting them steal his food. He even used to be Jongdae and Jongin’s _official_ big spoon during their sleepovers.

The only difference he can think of is the warmth pooled in his stomach. It lingers, the internal warmth, and it spreads upwards to his chest when Kyungsoo sighs in arms. Knowing that Kyungsoo doesn’t usually allow this form of physical closeness, no matter how long they’ve been friends for, fuels the warmth.

“It’s cold,” he mutters. “It wasn’t this cold upstairs.”

“It’s the floor,” is Kyungsoo’s reply. “Do you want to sleep more? We can visit something else today.”

They’re supposed to visit an art exhibition today, which starts at 9 in the morning and ends at 1pm. It will be different everyday, according to Kyungsoo, and the first day has a mix of classic and new, freelance artists are showcased. Kyungsoo has visited this kind of exhibition a lot, apparently, with his sister and he confirms that the first is ten times better than any other day.

“But I really want to,” Junmyeon mumbles. He peels his eyes open, and finds himself in the kitchen, near the sink. He leans back to look at Kyungsoo with a pout. They haven’t planned much for today, thankfully. “Unless _you_ are tired?”

“I slept great, I’ll be fine.”

“It won’t take us four hours to finish the tour, right?” He detaches himself from the hug and pours himself a glass of water. “If I’m not feeling dead after the exhibition, we can do something else.”

Kyungsoo nods. “There’s not much in that area, but we look around.”

They’re ready to leave at nine-thirty, bundled in scarves because it’s so cold outside today for some reason. And they walk to the nearest bus stop, hands in their pockets and bumping elbows occasionally, while Kyungsoo tells him stories of the witches and wizards who visit them; the confused looks they bring. They reach the exhibition fifteen minutes later, and there’s a long queue to get the tickets.

“I didn’t consider this,” Kyungsoo frowns. “There aren’t any queues usually. I’m sorry, hyung.”

“It’s okay,” They get in line before any large group can join in, since the line is moving a little slowly, and Junmyeon yawns loudly. “As long as I don’t die, we’ll be fine.”

“We should’ve taken a break,” Kyungsoo responds, glaring at Junmyeon because it was his idea to have such a packed schedule. “The train ride was long, and you said you didn’t sleep well.”

“I need some time to adjust to the bed,” Junmyeon appreciates that his friend uses a different kind of ‘I told you so’, instead of saying it to his face. He looks around and finds large groups of families waiting. No wonder the queue is moving slow. “I’ll sleep better tonight, don’t worry.”

They chat while waiting, about their jobs, and Kyungsoo’s sister’s job. What Hannie is interested in pursuing. Junmyeon feels a little more adult-like, talking about jobs instead of studies and Quidditch and who is dating whom, but it also makes him think of his parents. They’ve imposed ‘no professional talk’ rule every possible place, and Junmyeon enjoys breaking it ever so often. And during this time, last year, they were so caught up with the preparations — their house was filled with so many people, children running around, teenagers busy with their phones, and Junmyeon’s excitement about his job was still fresh. Everyone in their house indulged him.

“You look sad,” Kyungsoo mentions when they’re near the counter. It has been almost thirty minutes since they’ve been waiting, but Junmyeon doesn’t mind. He likes talking to Kyungsoo about everything. “What’s up?”

“I’m not sad, I just… miss my parents.”

Kyungsoo’s lips twitch into a little smile. “A baby.”

Junmyeon huffs, rolling his eyes, but he can’t help smiling back. “No. But I had so much fun last year, and this time I’m— don’t get me wrong, I like it here, I do, but—”

“I get it, hyung,” Kyungsoo holds up a finger to ask him to wait, and places his elbows on the counter. Junmyeon watches his friend buy two tickets, and they move towards the entrance of the exhibition. “You don’t have to explain yourself, I won’t be offended.”

“We have this tradition of celebrating together,” Junmyeon explains as they climb up the grand stairs and pause in front of a huge family. The poor guard has to count the tickets _and_ the people. “It’s a yearly thing, during Christmas. I always have fun.”

Kyungsoo nods along, watching him with a sympathetic smile.

“It’s a different relative’s house every year, and this time it’s at the...” They walk through the door, and there are huge posters on either walls. They’re as tall as Junmyeon, showcasing different pictures of the same hallway but with different paintings hung on them. There are a few small posters of other exhibitions their sister galleries are hosting.

The floor is carpeted, and the wallpaper is plain dark brown. The lights above their heads light up only sections of the floor and wall. It’s like walking into a movie theatre. It’s exhilarating to be in such a place, and when the narrow hallway expands into a huge hall, with various paintings hung on the wall, Junmyeon wants to run and examine everything with a magnifying glass.

Even though they’re comparatively early, there are a lot of people looking at the paintings. Junmyeon holds Kyungsoo’s hand, lacing their fingers together, and pulls him to the farthest corner to start with. They’ll do it in a line, and not a single person is standing at the corner so it’s a good place to start.

He squeezes Kyungsoo’s hand and shakes it excitedly as they approach the first painting.

“We have three hours, don’t hurry so much,” Kyungsoo whispers, but lets himself be dragged around.

Junmyeon feels the exact same thing he felt during the first night of Hogwarts, when their plates filled with rich and delicious food. His stomach flutters a little, he fidgets with Kyungsoo’s hand out of habit. It’s a little hard to calm down when there are so many paintings waiting to be admired, but he manages to tone his excitement down in favour of looking at the framed artwork.

As they move through various paintings, Junmyeon develops a type. At first all the watercolour, acrylic, and oil were all amazing, but now Junmyeon is leaning towards acrylics. They give him a physical feeling — like the art reaches out from the frame and consumes him. Kyungsoo observes silently next to him, tugging him to the next painting when Junmyeon spends a little too much time on a single one. He listens to Junmyeon patiently, humming in the appropriate places.

The fatigue from the morning is long forgotten as they finish the tour. Junmyeon would love to see everything once again, perhaps with more background and more information about the artists. He’s visited only two galleries in his entire life, excluding this one, but this won’t be his last.

He winces when they come out in the sun, it’s too bright compared to the hall.

“Did you enjoy it?” Kyungsoo asks, but he has a knowing smile.

“I loved it,” Junmyeon beams, holding both of his friend’s hands and pulling him to a hug. “Thank you. I loved it a lot.”

Kyungsoo laughs softly. “You were like a kid in there.”

“It was amazing there.” He pulls back and pouts in response, despite being aware of the fact that his friend is just making an observation. Kyungsoo’s teasing is on the mean side, with gentle punches on the arm, amused smirk on his face.

“I know,” Kyungsoo laughs again, placing his hand over Junmyeon’s mouth and pushing him away. “Do you have the energy to do something else?”

Fifteen minutes later, they enter a little coffee shop for warmth. They’ve been wandering aimless around the exhibition, trying to decide what to do with their time. The shop has only two empty tables and Kyungsoo pulls him towards the one near the windows, unwrapping his scarf and placing it on the table. It’s cold outside, but their legs started freezing after fifteen minutes of walking.

“Now we’ll have to buy stupidly expensive things to stay here and warm up,” Kyungsoo says, grinning. “I want hot chocolate.”

“Shouldn’t you buy me stupidly expensive hot chocolate and coffee?” Junmyeon stands up anyway, placing his scarf on the table and checking his wallet for money. “I’m getting something hot _and_ a pastry.”

“One for me too,” Kyungsoo beams.

Junmyeon can’t help but roll his eyes. “If this were a real date, I’d rate it 1 out of 10.”

“You shouldn’t rate a date in front of said date,” Kyungsoo giggles. “That’s bad manners, hyung.”

“At least I’m not making my date pay for the food.” Junmyeon pouts.

“It’s a payment for your bad manners,” he shrugs, his grin getting more and more evil as seconds tick by. “And where is the food anyway?”

Junmyeon leaves to order their food because he doesn’t know how to respond to that. He ponders over his reply while he orders and brings the tray back.

“Having a fake boyfriend has changed you,” he says, setting the tray down and handing Kyungsoo his hot chocolate mug. “You’ve become so demanding, and mean.”

His friend takes a long sip and snorts. “Took you long enough to come up with that.”

He rolls his eyes but doesn’t reply. Kyungsoo takes a bite of the pastry before he asks, “Anyway, what happened to the relatives?”

“Ah,” Junmyeon takes a dramatic pause, just for the sake of it, and answers, “I came out, they were assholes about it. The elders, not my cousins.”

“I thought you came out two years ago?”

He shrugs. “To my parents. Not any of my relatives.”

It doesn’t feel like a big deal right now, but he’s pretty sure he’ll feel left out when his parents show him pictures they took. He’s also sure he’d regret going to their house, though.

❀

They come back at 3pm, and Junmyeon ends up taking a nap because of how tired he is. Kyungsoo wakes him up after one and half hours, asking him to come down for a movie Hannie picked. Their parents went out, apparently, to meet their wizard friends and to buy some ingredients for more cookies. He falls asleep on Kyungsoo’s shoulder one-fourth way through the movie, and wakes up with his head on Kyungsoo’s lap.

“Dinner time,” Hannie says when he sits up, rubbing his eyes. “We’re setting up the table. Wash your face, hyung.”

Junmyeon has an urge to apologize for how much time he spent sleeping today. But Mr. and Mrs. Do bombard him with questions, they don’t let him talk about the over-sleeping thing. He gets to talk about his job and how much he loves it at the dinner table; and enthuse about being an Archivist. Mr. Do tells him several cute stories about Kyungsoo — they begin from when he was born up until his graduation. He gets to know that Hannie is adopted as well while their sister isn’t (which explains the huge age gap between the three of them), and that Kyungsoo is the clingiest among them.

“Really?” Junmyeon stares at Kyungsoo, whose eyes are daring him to say anything embarrassing. He maintains eye contact and says with a pout to make his point, “But he’s not clingy with me.”

He enjoys watching his friend stutter and avoid looking anyone in the eye, his ears and neck red. His parents laugh heartily, telling Junmyeon they’re _sure_ that’s not true. Kyungsoo tries to kick Junmyeon’s leg but misses it, and that fuels his embarrassment further. Kyungsoo rarely misses kicking someone under the table.

After dinner, Junmyeon is ready to sleep more. That’s the only thing he wouldn’t mind being proud about — he could be asleep for 12 hours during the day and still sleep his regular 8 hours at night. It’s a superpower at this point. He’s been in house clothes since they returned from the ‘date’ and he dives under the blanket first thing, switches the lights off.

There’s a knock on the door just as he closes his eyes. He grumbles and switches the lights on. Kyungsoo stays near the door, one hand on the door knob. “Mom wants to do the last minute Christmas shopping tomorrow.”

Junmyeon kind of misses his red face already. He hums. “What about the museum though?”

“After the museum, they’ll come with us,” Kyungsoo shrugs. “We don’t have to, but she wants to buy you a Christmas present too.”

“She doesn’t have to,” he beckons his friend closer, but gets rejected.

“It’s not a problem, hyung, she’s going to buy all of us presents tomorrow.” Kyungsoo swings the door back and forth while talking. “She sucks at surprises.”

Junmyeon laughs softly. “I’ll tell her you said that.”

“She knows, it’s our family thing,” Kyungsoo laughs, then adds quietly, “And I want you to help me pick out books for them, if it isn’t too much.”

“I’m already pretending to be your boyfriend, picking out a book shouldn’t be a problem.”

Kyungsoo nods. “Yeah, and we might have to be more… couple-like tomorrow. More than today, at least.”

“I’ll finally get to meet clingy Kyungsoo,” Junmyeon laughs when Kyungsoo’s cheeks become pink. Cute. “I’m just teasing, you don’t have to be clingy if you’re not comfortable.”

“Are you okay with that?” Kyungsoo asks. He looks so serious, Junmyeon can’t bring himself up to tease him a bit more. “We could just say that we just aren’t touchy or something.”

Junmyeon pushes himself up to sit, leaning against the bedframe and patting the space near his legs. “What does that include?”

“I’m not sure,” this time, Kyungsoo obliges. He crawls on the bed and sits in front of him. “Hand holding?”

“We need more than that,” Junmyeon says. They _do_ hold hands, but all friends hold hands. What is more… romantic? “I guess we should’ve talked about this. What stuff is considered a couple thing?”

“How about we—” Kyungsoo’s face twists into a confused expression. He’s so cute. “No, wait, tell me what stuff you would do with your partner but not a friend.”

“Kissing,” Junmyeon shrugs. “And I guess more physical affection?”

Kyungsoo nods. “Kissing is out of question, but I don’t mind being more touchy.”

“How much more touchy?” He asks, pursing his lips and trying his best not to say ‘because butt-touching is also affection to me’. He’s pretty sure Kyungsoo wouldn’t like that. “There are a lot of, um, ways of being ‘more’ touchy.”

“I’m fine with hugging, holding hands or arm,” Kyungsoo counts them on his fingers. “I wouldn’t mind wearing matching things too.”

“We should know things about each other too, like our birthdays or what we like?”

“Don’t we already know that?” Kyungsoo laughs suddenly. “Is it bad the only thing I can think of is kissing? Like, that’s the only thing coming to me when I think of the difference between friends and partners.”

“Just say you want to kiss me,” Junmyeon teases despite his own face heating up. It’s worth it, though, because Kyungsoo becomes red and his punch doesn’t miss this time. Junmyeon ignores the ache in his leg and grins smugly. “You don’t have to drop so many hints, you can be forward with me.”

His mind conveniently provides him an image of kissing Kyungsoo, and it’s hard to get rid of. The image of kissing turns more elaborate as Junmyeon tries to avoid it — first there’s snow falling, then suddenly they’re in an ice-skating rim, and there are people clapping for them, like they’re the main characters in a movie. A familiar warmth blooms in his stomach.

“You’re going to make that disgusting noise, if I do,” Kyungsoo says. He rolls his eyes and pretends to stumble back onto the bed, like someone pushed him. “And do that.”

Junmyeon has the misfortune of being caught making out by Kyungsoo in their common room, he was _sure_ nobody would enter it until at least three hours. But Kyungsoo walked in on him and his partner, and Junmyeon stumbled backwards, falling on his butt. He made a weird noise when he fell, and both his partner at that time and Kyungsoo had laughed at him. He swats at Kyungsoo’s arm, blushing to the tip of his ears. “You promised not to bring that up, ever.”

“I promised not to tell anyone,” Kyungsoo corrects, laughing to his heart’s content. “There’s nobody here.”

“I’ll start charging you for this fake boyfriend thing,” He whines, holding his hand out when his friend’s laughter only increases. “A hundred bucks for an hour, pay up.”

The only response he gets is more laughter and Junmyeon is left sulking until his friend stops laughing at him.

“I’ve spent four hours here,” Junmyeon says when the laughter stops, jutting his bottom lip out for better results. “That’s four hundred bucks, Soo.”

Kyungsoo completely ignores his words. “Do you think kissing would be more believable?”

“Fifty extra for kissing.”

“That’s cheap for someone who charges a hundred per hour,” Kyungsoo teases. “But seriously, hyung — what do you think?”

Junmyeon drops his hand and shakes his head, letting the topic slide for a moment. Both of them need to know each other’s boundaries. “I don’t think we need to do that. Being more clingy should work fine, it’s not for many days, and we _can_ just tell them we aren’t that touchy.”

“Okay, that’s good. Good night, hyung.” Kyungsoo gets down the bed sideways, and pats his friend’s head before making it to the door.

Junmyeon stops him a second before the door closes. “Wait! What if they ask questions about how we started dating?”

“Make something up, and I’ll follow your lead,” Kyungsoo hooks his chin on the door and smiles gently. “I’ll talk to you in the morning~”

❀

Next morning proves to be a little awkward from Junmyeon’s side. Everyone is ready at nine, and they head out to the museum Kyungsoo promised to show him, but Kyungsoo laces their fingers together when they step out of the house — Junmyeon freezes momentarily; when they’re walking and Kyungsoo holds his arm, he becomes flustered and tries not to squeak. He doesn’t hold hands with his friends _so_ constantly, he realises, and it doesn’t help that his last partner was a sucker for it. They constantly held hands while walking from one class to the other, and he misses having a partner for a split second.

During the museum tour, they don’t get a chance to hold hands at all — Junmyeon is too excited to stay in a place, and Kyungsoo is preoccupied by Hannie’s several questions about things. Despite being with Mrs. Do for most of the museum tour (who matches his enthusiasm about the museum, even though she’s visited this a few times before), some places make Junmyeon wonder what he’d do if he was with his partner. There are so many couples taking pictures for each other and together, Junmyeon has to remind himself he can’t sulk in front of Kyungsoo’s parents. They think him and Kyungsoo are dating, there’s no reason for him to be sullen.

“Let’s take some pictures!” Hannie announces and takes out their phones, passing it to Kyungsoo. “Me first!”

Junmyeon directs Hannie with their poses because they’re not that good at posing for pictures, and Mrs. Do takes the work of being her child’s hypewoman.

“Kyungsoo, join him— join them!” Mr. Do takes the phone from his son’s hand and pushes him forward. “Go, go, we need to send some pictures to your sister!”

“Why don’t you both join them too?” Junmyeon smiles and takes the phone from Mr. Do’s hand, smiling bigger when he goes to both of his kids and squeezes them in his arms. They pretend to be disgusted while Mr. Do laughs happily. “Join them, Mrs. Do.”

Mrs. Do asks him to click some pictures on her phone too, and they spend a few more minutes taking family pictures. (Most of them turn out good, but they get only one picture where Hannie isn’t making a silly face at the camera.)

He returns Mrs. Do’s phone but he doesn’t expect her to nudge him to go forward. “Hannie, take Junmyeonnie’s pictures! We made the poor boy a cameraman.”

“Kyungsoo hyung should join him,” Hannie says, and points at Junmyeon’s pocket. “Give me your phone, hyung.”

“I’ll join him after I’ve made sure you can actually click pictures,” Kyungsoo jokes. Hannie sticks their tongue out and Kyungsoo makes a silly face at them. “I don’t want to be ugly pictures.”

“It’s not my fault if you’re already ugly,” Hannie huffs, but they sound too grim to call it a joke. Junmyeon looks away from the tension building between the siblings in favour of thinking about poses. They show the pictures to Junmyeon after clicking some, and beam when Junmyeon admits they look good. They turn to Kyungsoo with a smirk. “See? You’re ugly, not my pictures.”

Kyungsoo tries to pinch their ear but they whine loudly and run to their mother. Junmyeon chuckles behind his hand. Hannie points an accusing finger at their brother. “Hyung is bullying me!”

“He called me ugly,” Kyungsoo whines right back. When Mrs. Do glares at him, he whines further. “He started it.”

“No I didn’t!”

“Stop fighting,” Mr. Do quiets them with a stern look. “Finish taking their pictures, Hannie, we need to go shopping as well.”

Kyungsoo glares at Hannie (it’s serious all over again) and takes Junmyeon’s phone from them. “We can click pictures without your help.”

That’s a good idea, Junmyeon thinks. A ‘couple’ selfie will be easier to pose for. They take a few pictures: Junmyeon’s arm around Kyungsoo’s waist and both of them making hearts at the camera; both of them making silly faces; and one with Junmyeon leaning his forehead against Kyungsoo’s temple, his eyes closed while Kyungsoo looks at the camera. They’ve posed like this before, but there were a few more friends with them.

“They all look disgusting, I’m sure.” Hannie grunts when they’re heading towards the shopping street. They don’t seem joking at all. Junmyeon’s stomach twists uncomfortably — it feels like they’re talking about _him_ even though he knows it’s not true.

Kyungsoo groans and holds Junmyeon’s arm, muttering so his sibling doesn’t hear him. “Not as disgusting as you.”

❀

If Kyungsoo notices his soured mood, he doesn’t ask to confirm it. He just leans closer as they walk, pointing out things he thinks (or knows) Junmyeon will like. If he hasn’t noticed, though, his timing is just great.

The shopping street is busy, obviously, and some shops don’t have enough space for all five of them. Mrs. Do decides she will bring Kyungsoo in with her in the shop (which has a lot of scarves and winter coats flying from one place to another) and orders the three of them to stay outside. Kyungsoo follows his mother inside after giving Junmyeon’s hand a comforting squeeze, like a silent ‘hang in there’.

Mr. Do waits for a minute. He checks through the glass windows of the shop and ensures his wife and son are lost in the crowd, and tells Junmyeon and Hannie, “I’ll go buy my old friends some gifts, you kids wait here.”

Junmyeon can’t really complain here, as much as he wants to, but Hannie grumbles for the both of them. “Mom’s going to be mad at you, come back before they do.”

“I will,” Mr. Do pinches his child’s cheeks, laughing. “I’ll meet you right here, boys.”

They stand awkwardly next to each other, immobile due to the crowd. One stretched leg can cause havoc in places like these, so Junmyeon stands rigid and observes everyone. This magic shopping street is filled with pedestrians, but the shopping street in his hometown has more air traffic. Everybody owns some kind of broom, everyone wants to show it off. And the candy shop gets the most attention — they sell delicious confectionery and Christmas brings 40% with everything.

He snaps out of his head when he notices Hannie moving in his peripheral vision. He jogs up to them, grabbing their shoulders so they don’t lose each other. “Where are you going?”

“I wanted to see the new brooms,” Hannie shrugs his hands off their shoulders. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Can I come with you?” Junmyeon is already following them, but it won’t hurt to ask. “It feels weird to stand there all by myself.”

Hannie grunts. They seem annoyed. “I guess.”

“Do you hate me or something,” he asks casually. They’ve been very unwelcome since they met. “Did I do something wrong?”

They stop at the broom shop’s window, and observe the brooms easily. The window is blocked with little children marvelling at the brooms and talking about it, their heads reach upto Junmyeon’s stomach, he doesn’t have to be tippy-toe to see the new designs. He looks at their names, their costs (ridiculously expensive, as always), and waits for Hannie.

“I don’t hate you,” Hannie says, talking to Junmyeon but their eyes are on a broom’s description card. “I don’t know why you think that.”

“You look annoyed whenever I’m around, for one,” Junmyeon shrugs. “You’ve just tolerated me so far.”

“Sorry,” they glance at him with an apologetic look. “It isn’t you. I’m annoyed at hyung. He always tells me when he has a boyfriend or even a crush, but he never told me about you.”

Junmyeon can’t help his curiosity, can’t help it when he opens his mouth and asks, “Even if it’s just a crush?”

“Yeah.” One line of children move away, and both of them step closer to the window. “That’s not all we talk about, obviously, but it was supposed to be our _thing.”_

“I get it,” Junmyeon presses his lips together, staring at the little children’s heads in front of him for a while. “Can I ask you something related to that? Has he ever mentioned Minseok?”

They begin walking back to the shop Mrs. Do left them. Hannie sticks behind him, standing close enough to talk on their way back. “I don’t remember any Minseok.”

Huh. Did Junmyeon just read into their interactions, then? But it doesn’t make sense, if he’s being honest. Kyungsoo is all… _giggly_ and cute around Minseok.

“Shouldn’t it bother you, hyung?” Hannie gives him a weird look and then shrugs. “And why would he mention Minseok instead of you?

Junmyeon quietly tries to think of an excuse until they reach the shop, although his mind is preoccupied by re-running the kissing-after-skating-on-ice sequence. Mrs. Do and Kyungsoo are already outside, holding paper bags and Mrs. Do glares at them. “Where is your father? Why did you leave?”

“We went to look—”

“I’m here!” Mr. Do huffs, holding a single bag in his arm. He leans his hands on his knees and pants. “I’m here, let’s go, let’s go.”

Mrs. Do begins scolding her husband as they make their way through a crowd, going to a deserted area to leave the street. She pulls Junmyeon to her and tells him about the time Kyungsoo and Mr. Do got lost in this street, and they found each other because of how loudly their ten year old son was crying.

“For the record,” Kyungsoo says as he matches his steps with Junmyeon. “ I don’t do that anymore.”

Junmyeon laughs. “Baby Kyungsoo seems really cute, I want to meet him.”

“He was a demon,” Hannie tuts. “He had his cute moments, but has mom told you when he covered me in washing soda?”

“That was a long time ago,” Kyungsoo grunts.

“You were fourteen!” Hannie accuses. They look at Junmyeon with a mischievous grin. “I was only two months old, and instead of baby-sitting me like a good child, he put washing soda in my crib.”

“You have a great memory, Hannie.” Junmyeon teases. 

Their ears become pink. “Mom and dad told me about it.”

“If I were fourteen when that happened, I should be thirty by now,” Kyungsoo shakes his head. “Do the math, Hannie. You were eight.”

Hannie moves to Junmyeon’s right side, and holds his arm. “He’s lying.”

“I’m not!”

Junmyeon can’t help but think this is much more entertaining than the movie last night. And a lot better without the grim tension. “Why did you do that anyway?”

“I thought it’d be fun,” Kyungsoo mutters, his ears pink. “I don’t exactly remember my thought process but I had a lot of fun doing it.”

❀

Junmyeon wants to collapse in the doorway when he enters. It’s so nice and warm, he can’t wait to crawl into the bed and sleep, even though it’s only 7:30pm. They had dinner outside, just thirty minutes ago, so all they have to do is change into pajamas and go to bed. It’ll be easy to fall asleep with his stomach so comfortably full. The rest of shopping was not entirely successful, they couldn’t get the books for Mr. and Mrs. Do, but Junmyeon found a few things he wanted to send his parents with a letter. He still needs to buy Hannie a gift, though, it won’t be nice to leave him out when he plans on co-gifting the books with Kyungsoo.

“I’m going to take a nap,” Mr. Do announces once the bags are kept under the Christmas tree. “Good night kids, don’t cause any commotion until tomorrow.”

“The cookies are in the fridge,” Mrs. Do points at the kitchen. “Don’t mess up the kitchen, okay? Help yourselves with whatever you want.”

Before Junmyeon can wonder why they’re saying that, his questions are answered. Hannie takes out the extra decorations they bought, and passes the red and green delicate glass balls to him. “They go on the tree.”

“I’m too tired for this,” Junmyeon groans, but he obliges anyway. He puts two on the tree, and takes a seat on the couch, crossing his legs. “I’m going to rest a little. Aren’t you tired, Hannie?”

“This is the only thing they get to take charge of,” Kyungsoo grins tiredly. “Bossing people around wins over tiredness.”

“Exactly,” Hannie beams, putting up string lights around the tree. “Tell me when you’re done with the balls, hyung, there’s the fake mistletoes too.”

“You could’ve bought those enchanted ones,” Kyungsoo sits on the floor and unpacks the rest of the little decorations, passing Hannie whatever they ask for. “Why did you waste your money on fake ones?”

“They’re cheaper, and I wanted to try a spell I found.”

Kyungsoo’s smile falters. “Tell me you didn’t get it from that shop.”

“No, no, it isn’t from that shop,” Hannie avoids looking at Kyungsoo, though. They seem nervous. Junmyeon stares at them curiously, unsure of what any of this means. “I promise, I haven’t visited it since last time.”

“You were lucky we found a loophole in it—”

“I know!” Hannie snaps, glaring at their brother. Their grip on the green glittery snake decoration tightens, Junmyeon notices it disform. “Shut up, don’t lecture me.”

“Where did you get the spell from?”

Hannie pauses in their work. “It’s none of your business.”

“Where did you get it from, Hannie?” Kyungsoo stands up, and Junmyeon takes it as a cue to leave. He takes the glass decorations, the things he bought, and sprints upstairs. As much as he wants to know what they’re talking about, the tension is too much to handle. He’ll ask Kyungsoo about it later.

(They haven’t agreed on a single thing since they’ve met. Hannie keeps insulting Kyungsoo — which seemed joking at first, but Junmyeon isn’t so sure anymore — and they get sharp-tongued snides which makes everyone in the room wince.)

Junmyeon holes up in his room, doing everything in his power to not go down and watch the whole thing unravel in front of him. They deserve privacy, it’s bad enough he knows Hannie has definitely done something illegal — or very bad, at least. For the first half of his time in the room, he writes a letter to his parents, wishing them good health and fun at the cousin’s house. He’s going to text them on Christmas, obviously, but they like getting letters, and he likes writing and sending them just as much. 

After finishing the letter, he suddenly wonders if he should’ve turned Kyungsoo down, told him he’s visiting the nice relatives instead and stayed home.

After two hours, Junmyeon wills himself to get off the bed and bring the decorations down. Two hours is enough for siblings to make up, right? They would make up after a single break from each other, especially during lunch. Kyungsoo would let Hannie join them on the Ravenclaw table until lunch began, and they’d be friends again.

The door opens when Junmyeon stands in front of it, and Kyungsoo stares at him with his big, pretty eyes, his lips pursed unintentionally, and he absently wrings his hands.

“Come in,” Junmyeon moves back, approaching the bed, he keeps the box on it and takes a seat next to it. He waits for his friend to sit next to him before asking, “Are you both okay now?”

“I’m sorry you had to witness that,” Kyungsoo’s lips press into a thin line after he speaks. He looks away from Junmyeon’s face, at their legs. “And the thing yesterday.”

“You know I’ve seen worse,” Junmyeon grins, bumping their shoulders together. When Kyungsoo doesn’t respond, doesn’t even meet his eyes,. he frowns. “I’ve seen you hex them; we’ve cleaned the green sticky thing off your bed. It’s okay, Soo.”

“I know,” his friend lifts his chin, but he still doesn’t look Junmyeon in the eyes., “They’re being annoying, and not the kind he— they used to be. It’s like they _really_ want to hurt me.”

Junmyeon chooses to remain silent instead of responding. Should he tell him that his sibling is annoyed about their ‘thing’ violation and that’s why they’re acting out? But who knows, it could be only part of the reason they’re acting this way.

“Kyungsoo,” he cups Kyungsoo’s cheek with his left hand, gently places his head on his shoulder and makes his friend meet his eyes. “Maybe you should just talk to them.”

“You know something,” Kyungsoo accuses, grimacing at him. “What did I do? Should I have gotten them cake? Because I thought it was a joke—”

“I don’t know if it’s my place,” he grins, amused. Cake? Really? He thought celebratory cakes were outdated now. Kyungsoo grins back this time, slightly exasperated. Their faces are so close, though, if he were to lean just a little forward, tilt his head upwards, he could be kissing Kyungsoo right now. As much as he knows it’s a dangerous thought, his stomach flutters in a way that makes him bite his lower lip. It _would_ be nice to kiss him, but not right now. Later, maybe, after he at least mentions these feelings to Kyungsoo.

“Let me ask them first,” he mutters. Moving away from Kyungsoo, he gets up and grabs the box in one hand, Kyungsoo’s wrist in the other and tugs him forward. “Come on.”

While he hurries downstairs, Kyungsoo follows him leisurely, a step too slow compared to him. He reaches the last two steps and leaps, skipping the last step, but he freezes instead of landing. His body below his neck paralyzes like ice, he hangs mid-air, legs stuck in a leaping stance, and looking up tells him everything he needs to know: a fake mistletoe, shining with magic. Junmyeon makes a panicked voice involuntarily, and when he looks towards the couch, he finds Hannie staring at him, horrified first, then panicking. They grab their coat from the couch and make a run to the doorway.

“Hannie, wait!” He yells but he hears the door slam shut. It’s not like he can chase them. Kyungsoo squeezes past him quickly and goes behind them — although his steps are too unhurried to say he’s _chasing_ his sibling. Junmyeon sighs. Great. How long will it take for the magic to fade? What if it’s the kind that doesn’t fade? He hopes Kyungsoo remembers disenchantment spells from Hogwarts, or at least his parents. But they’re just a pair of Herbologists, and they retired a year ago — do they even remember any good spells?

Mr. Do comes out of their room, followed by his wife, their eyes wide as they stare at Junmyeon. They approach him, tug at his arms and shake his legs fruitlessly. He couldn’t even feel their hands on his body. 

“Hannie used magic, didn’t he?” Mrs. Do sighs when Junmyeon nods. He didn’t _see_ them use magic, but that’s the only explanation. “Didn’t they. They. Where is Kyungsoo?”

Said man appears from the doorway, a deep frown on his face. He comes near them, stands closer to Junmyeon and looks at his parents. “Hannie ran away, again.”

Nobody seems to be alarmed by it, which makes Junmyeon infuriated and grateful at the same time. But the words ‘ran away’ feels uncomfortable, like a pebble in his shoe, they cause his heart to pound against his chest. . He begins sweating in his clothes. Three of them look at him, faces unreadable (or his panic/worry is clouding his judgement); it feels like he’s being blamed for Hannie running away — does Kyungsoo think that? Maybe his parents think of it that way, their looks are more disapproving than their son’s. But he calms down when Mrs. Do’s face breaks into a gentle smile.

“Let me try something, Junmyeon?”

He nods. She waves her hand in the air, and her wand zips through the air, landing perfectly in her palm. Muttering the basic disenchantment spell under her breath, she flicks her wand and a flare shoots out of the tip and hits the mistletoe fruitlessly. The shining pauses only for a moment, but the mistletoe looks dull than before.

“They bought something from the shop again,” Kyungsoo informs as he wraps a protective arm around Junmyeon’s waist. Junmyeon tries to focus on the arm touching him, but his tactile senses are not working. “I think we should check their room.”

“And they’ll accuse us for invading their space.” Mr. Do sighs. His wife turns to him and huffs.

“It almost cost them their tongue last time, can we really care about that? They clearly haven’t learned their lesson. We should’ve let them lose a tongue.”

Lose a tongue?

“Don’t say things like that,” Mr. Do glares at his wife. “Fine. Let’s go search their room — Kyungsoo, stay with him.”

Once his parents squeeze past them and disappear upstairs, Junmyeon can’t resist asking. “What is this all about? Hannie lost a tongue?”

Kyungsoo lets out a heavy sigh, he moves to come in front of Junmyeon, and shrugs. “Hannie keeps buying a spells book from a Dark Magic shop.”

 _Oh fuck,_ is all Junmyeon can think.

“It’s a moving shop, never stays in the same place,” Kyungsoo looks forlorn, which Junmyeon understands Dark Magic shops are rare; it’s dangerous that it _moves_ and the fact that Hannie seems to have easy access to it worsens the situation. “We’ve filed a report, the Aurors are searching for the shop. We got to know about it when they cried about having to lose their tongue in a day, if they don’t repay the Spirit.”

Junmyeon glances at the mistletoe. He liked it better when it was shining, now it just looks exactly like a dark cloud of bad luck looming over his head. He’s also terrified of what this thing could do; what if he has to, like, lose a tongue too for this? He lets out a shaky breath.

“I don’t think it’s from that shop,” Kyungsoo brings him in a supposed-to-be-comforting hug, but Junmyeon can only feel the part of Kyungoo’s arms touching his neck. “They promised they didn’t visit the shop. But we can’t risk using any magic on this right now.”

They hear Kyungsoo’s parents talking to each other as they come downstairs. Kyungsoo moves aside to let them come down.

“There’s nothing in their room,” Mr. Do tells them. His words soothe Junmyeon’s twisted insides. “Do you know where they could’ve gone?”

“Can you both check the rooftop?” Kyungsoo takes out his phone. “I’ll try calling their friends’ houses.”

His parents nod and leave, not before they assure Junmyeon he’ll be out of this position as soon as they can manage. He smiles at them as they disappear into the doorway, and when the front door clicks, he can’t stop himself from talking.

“They were mad at you for not telling them about me,” he babbles, his voice cracking at the end. Kyungsoo stops typing on his phone and looks at him, confused. Junmyeon clears his throat. “They said it was your thing, to talk about your crushes and stuff, and you didn’t tell them about me.”

“Stupid kid,” Kyungsoo groans. He pockets his phone and turns his back to Junmyeon as he says, “I think I know where they went.”

“Don’t leave me here,” Junmyeon hates how his voice breaks _again_ when he pleads. This is the worst possible situation to be stuck in — especially during Christmas week. “I didn’t sign up for this.”

Kyungsoo looks apologetic once again when he turns around. He hugs Junmyeon once more, and judging by the pressure against his neck, it’s supposed to be a tight, reassuring embrace. Too bad nearly all of his body can’t feel a single thing. “I know, I’m sorry hyung.”

“This sucks,” Junmyeon mutters. It really sucks, being stuck here and he knows they can laugh about this later, but it sucks so much right now. All he can think of is how he wasn’t expecting this; how much he’d rather be in his head, or telling Kyungsoo about his feelings, or at least watch the siblings talk about mundane things. “But it’s okay, Soo, you weren’t expecting this either.”

“I won’t bring you here again,” Kyungsoo promises as he pulls away, looking genuinely sorry for the whole situation. That sounds like ‘we’ll never do everything we’ve done in the past few days’, and Junmyeon panics a little.

“Let’s not get hasty,” he tries to joke, “What if you need to help your relatives act better around us?”

“You looked like you were going to cry, and now you’re joking,” Kyungsoo chuckles a little, patting Junmyeon’s cheek tenderly. “I’m really sorry, though, I know how much this sucks.”

“Just don’t beat yourself up for this, okay?” Junmyeon presses his lips into a thin line, to try his best not to talk further and make another joke. The joke is probably too old to be funny now, but it still makes Junmyeon laugh when he thinks of it.

Kyungsoo grins, amused now, clearly seeing Junmyeon through. “Go on, say it.”

“I should sign up for those ‘boyfriend for hire’ things,” Junmyeon beams. “That’s a thing, apparently. I’ll quit the Ministry job and get paid to be stuck under a mistletoe instead.”

“ _Educational_ boyfriend for hire makes more sense.” Kyungsoo shakes his head in disapproval, but he’s smiling anyway. “Have the pamphlet say ‘to teach your family and friends how to act around you’, and mention that the prices are negotiable.”

“They aren’t,” Junmyeon huffs, slightly offended. “I’m strict with my prices.”

“You should definitely reconsider it, then,” Kyungsoo laughs this time. He leans back while laughing, and ends up stumbling backwards. He saves himself by grabbing Junmyeon’s arms tightly, then adds, “You said it was a hundred bucks per hour, but a kiss is just fifty? People will exploit you, hyung.”

“You just got a friend discount,” Junmyeon mutters, glaring at his friend who continues to laugh. “You’re lucky I’m stuck here, or I would’ve hexed you, for being unsupportive of my good business idea”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he says but he doesn’t sound sorry. He snickers quietly when Junmyeon glares at him, and tries to put on a serious face. “I said I’m sorry! What do you want me to do?”

“Try something,” Junmyeon whines. “If magic’s too risky, then try something else.”

“It’s a mistletoe, hyung, what can I do?”

“How about—” Junmyeon shuts his mouth, looks at Kyungsoo’s pajama shirt and stares at it like it has the answers. He probably shouldn’t say, especially when even the thought of it makes him shy and the image pops up again; kissing in an ice ring, being applauded like they’re in a movie. His chest flutters in response to the image, though, his stomach swoops more now that it’s a possibility. He can actually kiss Kyungsoo this time, minus the unromantic content.

There’s a long moment of silence between them before Kyungsoo speaks up. “What if we try on the cheek?”

Junmyeon looks up, making eye contact with a red-faced Kyungsoo. Junmyeon is sure he’s blushing too now, if he wasn’t while thinking about the kiss. Why are they making a big deal out of this? He wills himself to think about that instead. It’s just a kiss. On the cheek. This shouldn’t be a big deal, right? 

“We can do that,” Junmyeon tries to shrug but his body doesn’t move. “Trying won’t hurt.”

It’s terribly silent as Kyungsoo leans closer and Junmyeon wishes he could clench his fist, or express the giddy feeling building up in his stomach. He can’t stop himself from smiling wide, can’t stop his face heating up further when he feels Kyungsoo’s breath against his cheek.

“If you laugh after this,” Kyungsoo threatens gently. Junmyeon nods, takes it seriously, but he can’t stop his stomach from tingling and his chest from fluttering like a wild bird stuck in a cage when Kyungsoo’s lips press against his cheek. It’s not wet by any means, but it’s soft — careful, even, and Junmyeon’s throat becomes dry.

He giggles for a split second, and shuts his mouth.

“Hyung,” Kyungsoo whines. “You said you wouldn’t laugh.”

“I know—” he giggles some more. It’s harder to stop when he can’t cover his mouth. “I’m not laughing _at_ you, I promise. It’s just—” _that felt really, really good._

The front door clicks loudly and their attention is diverted thankfully. Kyungsoo moves to the doorway and sighs loudly, a little relieved and exhausted.

Hannie is the first to enter the living room, looking really guilty, and they avoid looking at Junmyeon at any cost as they sit on the couch. Mr. Do follows them to the couch, and Mrs. Do goes to the kitchen, saying to no one in particular, “They were on the roof.”

“How does that break?” Kyungsoo asks with a serious tone, glaring at his sibling even though they can’t see him. Junmyeon winces at the tone. He’s a little mad at Hannie, sure, but it feels like Kyungsoo is being more harsh than required. Or maybe it’s just the tension in the room that is making him take pity on Hannie.

Hannie doesn’t look at their brother either.. “It’s a strong spell, but it works like a normal mistletoe.”

“ _How,_ Hannie?” Kyungsoo might as well grab his sibling and throw them into a wall, instead of using this tone, Junmyeon thinks.

“With a kiss, dumbass!” Hannie yells, looking back at their brother with a glare. They cower into their father’s arms when they make eye contact with Junmyeon by mistake. “It’s simple.”

“We tried, it didn’t work.”

They shoot out of the couch and approach Junmyeon with wide eyes, alarmed. “Really?”

He isn’t sure if he’s supposed to reply or not. On one hand, he’d really like to get out of this place, but on the other hand, looking at Hannie’s concerned face annoys him, he doesn’t want to talk to them. They should’ve thought of this _before_ doing anything, how is concern any helpful now?

“Go search an alternate option,” Kyungsoo orders, pointing past Junmyeon, at the stairs. “I’ll come help you in a minute.”

Hannie turns around and glares at their brother once again, but they oblige anyway. Junmyeon sighs when Hannie is out of his sight.

Kyungsoo mimics his sigh. “Let’s get you out of there, hyung.”

It’s less flustering this time, when Kyungsoo comes closer. He wraps his arms around Junmyeon’s midsection, and kisses him It’s just a quick peck on the lips, it would be a stretch to consider it a kiss, but it works its magic — Junmyeon falls down in a split second, but he’s saved by arms on holding him. He can finally move his limbs, feel Kyungsoo’s arms on his body and the hot breath against his shoulder blade.

“Finally,” Kyungsoo mutters. They sigh simultaneously, and chuckle at that. “Go get some water, hyung, I’ll go talk to Hannie.”

Mrs. Do brings him a hot mug of tea with the red velvet cookies, and offers to put on a movie for him.

❀

He flees the living room with the cookies and tea, in the name of finishing up his letter to his parents. He had opted out of watching a movie, and ended up talking to Mr. and Mrs. Do. While it’s obvious that they feel bad about having put him in the situation, their words make him feel guilty. They apologize so frequently, it makes him wonder if it was his fault he got stuck under that mistletoe.

He stops between the guest room and Kyungsoo’s room, trying to decide if he wants to be alone right now. He doesn’t, as it turns out, because thinking of having to sit in that room alone again makes him pout. So Kyungsoo’s room it is. He presses his ear against the door, trying to make out what they’re talking about. He’s less guilty about eavesdropping the conversation this time, his pettiness outweighs the guilt.

After a moment of hearing nothing but incoherent mumbling, he finally steps away, balances the plate of cookies over his cup, and knocks on the door.

Kyungsoo asks, “What is it?”

“It’s me,” he replies, really hoping he isn’t shooed away. “I brought cookies?”

There’s silence for a moment, then he hears footsteps approaching. He steps away from the door and beams when Kyungsoo opens it. Behind him, Hannie is sitting at the foot of the bed. They clearly had been crying, and Junmyeon can see fresh tears welling up in their eyes when he smiles politely at them.

“I’m not here to make you cry,” he says when they actually start crying. He offers them the cookies, feeling a little bad. “Unless you like cookies so much that you’re crying.”

Hannie huffs out a laugh between their crying. “Yeah, definitely. It’s the cookies.”

He sits next to them, and offers the cookies to Kyungsoo, who shuts the door and sits next to him but doesn’t touch the cookie.

“I’m sorry,” Hannie mutters, biting into the cookie. They don’t talk until they swallow the piece, though. And Junmyeon waits patiently, while Kyungsoo absently plays with his free arm, squeezing it and tracing invisible lines. “For doing that to you. It was meant for hyung.”

Junmyeon hums, glances at both of them. “Are you both okay now?”

Both of them nod in response, and he grins. “Great. Hannie, wear an old shirt when you open your gifts on Christmas.”

It’s an empty threat — but it’ll be fun to watch them expect something out of every gift when there’s nothing. He did it to his cousin last year, and he has pictures of her many, many terrified faces.

“Hyung told me you were the kind to hold a grudge,” they laugh. “Thanks for the heads up, though.”

They take another cookie and leave. Kyungsoo turns to him, still playing with his arm, and says, “I told them we aren’t really dating.”

“So…” Junmyeon takes a big sip of the tea and rubs his nape, chewing on his lower lip for a moment. In his gut, it feels like a good time to bring the feelings up. “Would this be a bad time to ask you out on a date?”

Kyungsoo’s cheeks become pink. He blinks, then his eyebrows furrow.. “What?”

“I don’t know, I thought it’d be cool to, uh, date you I guess,” he was seventeen last time he was blushing this bad, and it was a few minutes after him and his partner decided to do more than just make out. “Since I like fake-dating you so much.”

“Would it be _cool,_ hyung??” Kyungsoo teases.

Junmyeon stuffs his mouth with the last cookie, to avoid sputtering over his own spit like a fool, and takes a deep breath. “Be nice to me, I was recently paralyzed neck-down.”

His only concession and hope is that Kyungsoo is blushing too, his face is red just like it was before he kissed Junmyon’s cheek. Junmyeon wouldn’t mind if he’s turned down, really. The feeling he got with the kiss was nice, but he doesn’t want to make his friend uncomfortable. They probably can still do things as friends… maybe? if Kyungsoo’s comfortable doing it as friends, or if he just doesn’t like giving it a label.

“You can say no,” he says when the silence stretches for too long. “We can still be friends. I’m very good at pretending nothing ever happened—”

“Just one date?”

“For now,” Junmyeon shrugs. He’s doing a great job hiding the fact that his heart is trying to beat out of his chest, if he were to say so himself. “Only if you’re okay and comfortable with it. I don’t want to force you.”

He freezes when Kyungsoo leans forward, grinning wide with just a tiniest bit of tease in his look. “Okay.”

Junmyeon’s stomach erupts into butterflies, stronger this time. His legs might be shaking just a little; he wants to squeak loudly and hide under the bed.

“Okay,” he repeats with disbelief, but he’s smiling wide. His toes curl when he asks, “Tomorrow?”

Kyungsoo leans his head on Junmyeon’s shoulder, smiling. It’s rare for Kyungsoo to do this, Junmyeon feels special. “Tomorrow? We need to go to the bookshop with Hannie, though.”

Junmyeon’s smile turns a little mischievous. “What if it’s a date anyway? And act like it in front of them?”

“To mess with them,” Kyungsoo says, amused. “Of course you’d want to do that.”

“It’ll be fun!” Junmyeon beams. “I promise!”

“I don’t doubt that.” If anything, Kyungsoo looks just as pleased about this idea.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much if you've made it this far!!! this wasn't the initial AU i claimed but it ended up being far more precious than the previous one ;v; i hope you liked reading this~ please let me know if you did!! <3
> 
> (also!! constructive criticism is welcome ^^)


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